Opportunities and Choices

We can choose to either be defeated by hardship or to use it to glorify God.

I recently saw a television commercial for “Dancing With The Stars.” I don’t think I’ve ever watched the show, but Mr. T is a contestant this season, so after it finished, I Googled his performance. I’ve loved Mr. T since the eighties. He’s truly a gentle giant and a strong Christian, who has used his celebrity to promote good in the world.

He’s also a cancer survivor. I read an article in People Magazine, where he talked about his battle with cancer. He said, “What gave him hope was faith in God.”

He also talked about scripture. He said, “In the book of Job, he was challenged but he kept on believing in God. That’s the message I try to tell other people. Just because you believe in God, serve God, feed the hungry, and clothe the naked…that doesn’t mean that bad things are not going to happen to you.”

I think that’s a powerful message that many of us don’t like to think about. Christianity doesn’t make us immune from pain and hardship. We don’t serve God to earn His favor. We serve God because we love God. We love God because He loved us first.

We live in a broken world where bad things are going to happen, but we are not permanent residents here. We are travelers. Like Mr. T, we all have the ability to use our stories, the good and bad chapters, to encourage others who might be going through the same struggles.

Mr. T is 64 years old and is no ballerina, but he’s doing the show in honor of children who are fighting cancer. If he wins, he has vowed to shave off his famous mohawk to show solidarity with them. So far, the public has supported him with their votes.

If a 64- year- old body builder who has never been a dancer, is willing in his words, “to try,” to win a dancing show against opponents half his age, in honor of children with cancer, what are some things we might be called to do to share God’s love with others?

Mr. T reminds me that we are never too tough or too old to share our faith. He reminds me that we all have a story to share and that we all have the opportunity and the choice of whether to let our hardships defeat us, or to allow them to glorify God.